Yearn to learn leads woman, 81, to degree

Bathsheva Weinstein is oldest in FAU's summer class

For decades, she felt jealous every time she saw news reports about college graduations.

Bathsheva Weinstein wanted to be one of those graduates, but it never seemed possible. She didn't even have a high school diploma.

But years after hearing of a famous 60-year-old restaurateur who received his high school equivalency degree, Weinstein realized you're never too old to go back to school. She spent the last 14 years taking high school, community college and university classes.

On Friday, 12 days shy of her 82nd birthday, Weinstein walked on the stage at an auditorium at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and received her bachelor's degree in history.

"I always dreamed of graduating college, and I did it," she said. "Just 60 years later."

Weinstein is the oldest of 1,600 students who received degrees at FAU's summer commencement ceremonies.

Weinstein grew up in Montreal in a family that saw little value in girls getting an education, she said. High school cost $3.50 to $5 a month, and her father wouldn't pay the fee.

So she took a job as a secretary with a clothing manufacturer. After meeting her husband, Melvin, who is now 82, she moved to Massachusetts, where she raised her daughter and two sons. She later worked as the secretary to the president of an oil company.

She always wondered what her career path would have been had she finished school. Maybe she could have been the CEO of a corporation, she said. Not wanting her children to have the same regrets she had, she encouraged them to do well in school and attend college. All of them did.

It wasn't until Weinstein was retired and living in Hallandale Beach that she finally became motivated to get her high school diploma.

The late Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, said his biggest regret was never getting his diploma. So he went back to school and received a General Educational Development diploma from Coconut Creek High School in 1993.

"She kept talking about getting an education. When I saw Dave Thomas, I said, 'He did it. You can too.' " said Melvin Weinstein, who graduated from high school but doesn't have a college degree.

She soon started taking GED classes at Hallandale Adult Community Center, finishing in 1994. But she wasn't ready to stop. She attended Broward Community College, taking two classes a semester. She received her associate's degree in 2000.

She started at FAU the next year. A history buff, she decided to pursue a history degree. She took the bus every afternoon to the Davie campus, because she didn't want to drive in the evenings, when her classes ended.

Weinstein came well-prepared for class, sitting in the front row and dressing professionally in suits or nice slacks and jackets.

"She always came dressed for the nines," said Rita Botwinick, who taught Weinstein in several history classes. "She came as if she were going someplace very important. And that's how she considered her time at FAU."

While instructors treated her like everyone else, many students asked her why she was there.

"I would say, 'Why are you here?' and they would say, 'I'm here to learn,' and I would say, 'That's what I'm doing,' " Weinstein said. "Young people can't conceive of the idea that an older person can still learn. They think you're over the hill."

Scott Travis can be reached at stravis@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6637.